Introduction: Make This Wooden PVC Rubber Band Crossbow/Gun
Hey there! Here is a rubber band gun I built recently. It still needs to be painted and needs a little tweaking, but it does work. Sorry the only pics of it are after it was made. I'll be adding video as soon as I am satisfied that it's working the way I want it.
The Materials You Will Need
. Two 3/4" 12/3 or 10/3 plastic cable staples . A small square of wood that's not too thick
.A wooden slat (your choice of wood) .One bulldog clip
.A 6 1/2"- 8" piece of 1" PVC pipe .You will need lots of rubber bands
.Gorilla Glue (or cement glue)
.A wire hanger that's in good shape
. A long thin strip of wood that you will put underneath the front
The Tools
.I used a hacksaw to cut all the wood to the correct length and width, I'm sure you could use another better method though
.Sandpaper for smoothing cut edges
.A hammer (you will only need it to nail the cable staples on
.You will need a pair of wire cutters to cut the hanger to make the wire arm's and a pair of pliers to bend both ends of the arm's
. Lastly, you will require a vise to hold the pieces together as the glue dries
Step 1: The Barrel
Ok, the first thing you need to do is get a length of one inch diameter PVC pipe.
Then using a hacksaw, cut off a piece of the pipe. You want it to be no more
than 6 1/2 inches to 8 inches long. After you have cut off the piece of pipe,
take a small piece of sandpaper, sanding the cut end until smooth.
Pretty simple so far!
Step 2: Barrel Covering
This part was a little tricky for me, but I imagine, those of you who have more experience
will have an easier time. The first thing you want to do is take your wooden slat and
measure and mark out all the piece's for the barrel's outer covering. There's four in all
(a top, 2 sides and the bottom). I decided to go a different route for the top piece,
as you'll notice in the first picture. After you have the parts marked simply cut them out,
but be careful when cutting, so as not to cut pieces unevenly. And of course be careful not
to cut yourself. Having on the proper safety wear is always a good idea as well! Then sand all the rough
edges until they are smooth.
Gluing the cover onto the barrel: Take each of the cover pieces and glue them on
one at a time with some gorilla glue (this glue expands so make sure to wipe off the excess).
Start with gluing on the top. Once you have it glued in place, secure it in a vise, or clamp it down,
so that it won't shift. After the glue has completely dried, you can move onto the next piece,
which is the bottom. Just glue and secure till dry. For the two sides, you want them to fit flush against
the sides of the barrel, so make sure you trim them first then glue on and secure til glue dries.
Step 3: The Arms
Get yourself a long (not too long) piece of scrap wood and hammer the plastic cable staples to each end. Then use a pair of wire cutters to snip off the pointed ends of each nail, then glue the wood on as shown in second picture.
Next , get a large wire hanger and cut off the bottom using wire cutters. After doing that, take the wire you just cut and cut that in half. Then Bend the ends of each wire (front and back).
Step 4: The Handle and Grip
The handle itself can be made from the remainder of your wood slat. As for the grip,
I wanted it to go underneath the end of the handle. It's designed this way, a long hinge
is secured to the end with a couple rubber bands in such a way that the hinge bends down and under
flat. Then a small square of wood is also banded to the bottom along with a binder clip. And there you have
it, a instant handle!
Step 5: Final Assembly
Take the arms and hook them onto the plastic cable staples as seen in picture. Then take a rubber band and attach to the looped ends at the back. Done...and done! have fun and be safe.
Step 6: In Conclusion
I hope you've enjoyed my little instructable. I know that I enjoyed making it. And if you decide to make one of your own, I'd like to hear about it. Maybe a few of you experts out there can give this newbie some pointers.
